Gary McGaughey
@garyonyx-mcgoy.bsky.social
PhD student in the Peecook Lab at ISU, Paleontologist | Marine Reptile FINatic | Football and Basketball Fan | He/Him
Pinned
Hi Bluesky! Since I have reached a shade over 100 followers I wanted to introduce myself. I am a PhD student at Idaho State University currently studying the origins and evolution of ichthyosaurs and sauropterygians. I did my master's degree on the giant ichthyosaurs of the Late Triassic in Nevada.
Reposted by Gary McGaughey
New paper alert! (My first!)
This is a benchmark paper on all NPS fossils within the State of Utah through 2024. Loads of illustrations by me and pic by coauthors and collaborators. Open access, free to download! Thanks to all who made this possible!
giw.utahgeology.org/giw/index.ph...
This is a benchmark paper on all NPS fossils within the State of Utah through 2024. Loads of illustrations by me and pic by coauthors and collaborators. Open access, free to download! Thanks to all who made this possible!
giw.utahgeology.org/giw/index.ph...
November 24, 2025 at 6:55 PM
New paper alert! (My first!)
This is a benchmark paper on all NPS fossils within the State of Utah through 2024. Loads of illustrations by me and pic by coauthors and collaborators. Open access, free to download! Thanks to all who made this possible!
giw.utahgeology.org/giw/index.ph...
This is a benchmark paper on all NPS fossils within the State of Utah through 2024. Loads of illustrations by me and pic by coauthors and collaborators. Open access, free to download! Thanks to all who made this possible!
giw.utahgeology.org/giw/index.ph...
Reposted by Gary McGaughey
GenAI has polluted image search results, especially for animal pics. It’s now basically impossible to find accurate art references.
Enter this: a repository of open-access, AI-free images of wild & exotic taxa. Artists creating *without AI* have blanket permission for derivative/transformative use.
Enter this: a repository of open-access, AI-free images of wild & exotic taxa. Artists creating *without AI* have blanket permission for derivative/transformative use.
Exotic Animal Photo Reference Repository
www.animal-photo-references.com
January 27, 2025 at 9:45 AM
GenAI has polluted image search results, especially for animal pics. It’s now basically impossible to find accurate art references.
Enter this: a repository of open-access, AI-free images of wild & exotic taxa. Artists creating *without AI* have blanket permission for derivative/transformative use.
Enter this: a repository of open-access, AI-free images of wild & exotic taxa. Artists creating *without AI* have blanket permission for derivative/transformative use.
Reposted by Gary McGaughey
Mary Anning famously survived being struck by a bolt of lightning when she was 15 months old. From this and her extensive work on fossils and geology, we can infer that she was likely Ground-type
November 21, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Mary Anning famously survived being struck by a bolt of lightning when she was 15 months old. From this and her extensive work on fossils and geology, we can infer that she was likely Ground-type
Reposted by Gary McGaughey
🐉 The book of the great sea-dragons, Ichthyosauri and Plesiosauri, [gedolim taninim] gedolim taninim, of Moses.
London, W. Pickering, 1840.
[Source]
London, W. Pickering, 1840.
[Source]
November 20, 2025 at 3:23 AM
🐉 The book of the great sea-dragons, Ichthyosauri and Plesiosauri, [gedolim taninim] gedolim taninim, of Moses.
London, W. Pickering, 1840.
[Source]
London, W. Pickering, 1840.
[Source]
Reposted by Gary McGaughey
Buffa et al.’s paper on the enigmatic Permian reptile 🦎 Galesphyrus and the origin of Neodiapsida is out in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology! Read the thread 👇 for some important takeaways from our study
@valentinbuffa.bsky.social
#Paleontology #Reptile #Permian
doi.org/10.1080/1477...
@valentinbuffa.bsky.social
#Paleontology #Reptile #Permian
doi.org/10.1080/1477...
November 18, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Buffa et al.’s paper on the enigmatic Permian reptile 🦎 Galesphyrus and the origin of Neodiapsida is out in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology! Read the thread 👇 for some important takeaways from our study
@valentinbuffa.bsky.social
#Paleontology #Reptile #Permian
doi.org/10.1080/1477...
@valentinbuffa.bsky.social
#Paleontology #Reptile #Permian
doi.org/10.1080/1477...
Always a great time at #2025SVP! I enjoyed getting to share some of my early dissertation work and hear what's going on around the world of marine reptiles.
#2025SVP was a hit for Idaho and the IMNH, with a big showing for Peecook Lab members past and present! @garyonyx-mcgoy.bsky.social @slvrhwk.bsky.social @zhejiang0pterus.bsky.social @paleorob.bsky.social
@idahostateucose.bsky.social
@idahostateucose.bsky.social
November 16, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Always a great time at #2025SVP! I enjoyed getting to share some of my early dissertation work and hear what's going on around the world of marine reptiles.
Birding in England has been a good time. It is fun to see species that are similar to the North American birds I'm used to but with a fun little twist.
November 11, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Birding in England has been a good time. It is fun to see species that are similar to the North American birds I'm used to but with a fun little twist.
Pre-SVP trip to the NHM in London! The marine reptile wall is what I live for.
November 8, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Pre-SVP trip to the NHM in London! The marine reptile wall is what I live for.
Reposted by Gary McGaughey
🐉 The book of the great sea-dragons, Ichthyosauri and Plesiosauri, [gedolim taninim] gedolim taninim, of Moses.
London, W. Pickering, 1840.
[Source]
London, W. Pickering, 1840.
[Source]
October 26, 2025 at 8:23 AM
🐉 The book of the great sea-dragons, Ichthyosauri and Plesiosauri, [gedolim taninim] gedolim taninim, of Moses.
London, W. Pickering, 1840.
[Source]
London, W. Pickering, 1840.
[Source]
Reposted by Gary McGaughey
FINALLY some good fuckin science
www.cell.com/action/showP...
www.cell.com/action/showP...
October 5, 2025 at 1:10 AM
FINALLY some good fuckin science
www.cell.com/action/showP...
www.cell.com/action/showP...
Reposted by Gary McGaughey
#FossilFriday and the Peecook lab is out in the Pleistocene of Idaho making some new friends!
🦬🐪🦥 @garyonyx-mcgoy.bsky.social @imnh208.bsky.social @idahostateucose.bsky.social
🦬🐪🦥 @garyonyx-mcgoy.bsky.social @imnh208.bsky.social @idahostateucose.bsky.social
October 3, 2025 at 8:17 PM
#FossilFriday and the Peecook lab is out in the Pleistocene of Idaho making some new friends!
🦬🐪🦥 @garyonyx-mcgoy.bsky.social @imnh208.bsky.social @idahostateucose.bsky.social
🦬🐪🦥 @garyonyx-mcgoy.bsky.social @imnh208.bsky.social @idahostateucose.bsky.social
Reposted by Gary McGaughey
Are you tired of people constantly overestimating body size of marine reptiles? No longer!
We provide equations to estimate body size in ichthyosaurians, mosasaurids, and thalattosuchians.
1/4
We provide equations to estimate body size in ichthyosaurians, mosasaurids, and thalattosuchians.
1/4
September 17, 2025 at 6:35 AM
Are you tired of people constantly overestimating body size of marine reptiles? No longer!
We provide equations to estimate body size in ichthyosaurians, mosasaurids, and thalattosuchians.
1/4
We provide equations to estimate body size in ichthyosaurians, mosasaurids, and thalattosuchians.
1/4
Reposted by Gary McGaughey
Ontogenetic dietary partitioning in a Triassic sauropterygian: implications from a new juvenile specimen of Brevicaudosaurus jiyangshanensis (Reptilia: Diapsida) url: academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/a...
Ontogenetic dietary partitioning in a Triassic sauropterygian: implications from a new juvenile specimen of Brevicaudosaurus jiyangshanensis (Reptilia: Diapsida)
Abstract. During the first 10 million years of the Triassic, sauropterygians diversified rapidly into a variety of marine predatory niches. Adults of the l
academic.oup.com
September 16, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Ontogenetic dietary partitioning in a Triassic sauropterygian: implications from a new juvenile specimen of Brevicaudosaurus jiyangshanensis (Reptilia: Diapsida) url: academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/a...
Reposted by Gary McGaughey
Reconstructed skeleton of Spicomellus ('spiky collar'), certainly one of the most unusual dinosaurs known. Found in the mid-Jurassic El Mers Group of Morocco, it is also the oldest definitive ankylosaur.
September 8, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Reconstructed skeleton of Spicomellus ('spiky collar'), certainly one of the most unusual dinosaurs known. Found in the mid-Jurassic El Mers Group of Morocco, it is also the oldest definitive ankylosaur.
Reposted by Gary McGaughey
Ichthyosaurs were fully pelagic five million years after the End Permian Mass Extinction - and we have fetal vertebrae from two Early Triassic taxa. That is the main findings in our @natureportfolio.nature.com Scientific Reports paper published just now🥳 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Vertebral microstructure marks the emergence of pelagic ichthyosaurs soon after the End Permian Mass Extinction - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - Vertebral microstructure marks the emergence of pelagic ichthyosaurs soon after the End Permian Mass Extinction
www.nature.com
September 5, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Ichthyosaurs were fully pelagic five million years after the End Permian Mass Extinction - and we have fetal vertebrae from two Early Triassic taxa. That is the main findings in our @natureportfolio.nature.com Scientific Reports paper published just now🥳 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Gary McGaughey
🚨 The Lego mineral set is available for preorder and it’s not as good as the original design but I won’t let that stop me 🚨 www.lego.com/en-us/produc...
September 3, 2025 at 7:05 PM
🚨 The Lego mineral set is available for preorder and it’s not as good as the original design but I won’t let that stop me 🚨 www.lego.com/en-us/produc...
Reposted by Gary McGaughey
X.A Jenkins et al. (2025)
Evolutionary assembly of crown reptile anatomy clarified by late Paleozoic relatives of Neodiapsida
Peer Community Journal 5: e89
doi: doi.org/10.24072/pcj... -
peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10....
Evolutionary assembly of crown reptile anatomy clarified by late Paleozoic relatives of Neodiapsida
Peer Community Journal 5: e89
doi: doi.org/10.24072/pcj... -
peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10....
Evolutionary assembly of crown reptile anatomy clarified by late Paleozoic relatives of Neodiapsida
doi.org
August 29, 2025 at 10:11 AM
X.A Jenkins et al. (2025)
Evolutionary assembly of crown reptile anatomy clarified by late Paleozoic relatives of Neodiapsida
Peer Community Journal 5: e89
doi: doi.org/10.24072/pcj... -
peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10....
Evolutionary assembly of crown reptile anatomy clarified by late Paleozoic relatives of Neodiapsida
Peer Community Journal 5: e89
doi: doi.org/10.24072/pcj... -
peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10....
Reposted by Gary McGaughey
It’s finally out!
Our work addressing the origins of reptiles is published in PCJ! peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10....
We use novel info gleaned from the scan data of dozens of stem reptiles to substantially revise our understanding of early reptile evolution #paleontology #herpetology
Our work addressing the origins of reptiles is published in PCJ! peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10....
We use novel info gleaned from the scan data of dozens of stem reptiles to substantially revise our understanding of early reptile evolution #paleontology #herpetology
August 28, 2025 at 12:22 PM
It’s finally out!
Our work addressing the origins of reptiles is published in PCJ! peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10....
We use novel info gleaned from the scan data of dozens of stem reptiles to substantially revise our understanding of early reptile evolution #paleontology #herpetology
Our work addressing the origins of reptiles is published in PCJ! peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10....
We use novel info gleaned from the scan data of dozens of stem reptiles to substantially revise our understanding of early reptile evolution #paleontology #herpetology
Stratigraphy 🤝 Phylogeny
One of my favorite parts of this paper as a paleontologist with a heavy geology background.
One of my favorite parts of this paper as a paleontologist with a heavy geology background.
We found that this topology greatly improves the fit of the reptile evolutionary tree to the stratigraphic record by at least 27% compared to studies finding a 'Eureptilia' or 'Parareptilia'...
August 28, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Stratigraphy 🤝 Phylogeny
One of my favorite parts of this paper as a paleontologist with a heavy geology background.
One of my favorite parts of this paper as a paleontologist with a heavy geology background.
Reposted by Gary McGaughey
Specifically, by placing 'the earliest reptile' Hylonomus on the amniote stem and removing a ~50 million and ~30 million year ghost lineage for Millerettidae and Neodiapsida, we greatly improve the stratigraphic record of early reptiles and amniotes more broadly!
August 28, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Specifically, by placing 'the earliest reptile' Hylonomus on the amniote stem and removing a ~50 million and ~30 million year ghost lineage for Millerettidae and Neodiapsida, we greatly improve the stratigraphic record of early reptiles and amniotes more broadly!
HYPE.
It's so great to finally see this paper come out!
It's so great to finally see this paper come out!
It’s finally out!
Our work addressing the origins of reptiles is published in PCJ! peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10....
We use novel info gleaned from the scan data of dozens of stem reptiles to substantially revise our understanding of early reptile evolution #paleontology #herpetology
Our work addressing the origins of reptiles is published in PCJ! peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10....
We use novel info gleaned from the scan data of dozens of stem reptiles to substantially revise our understanding of early reptile evolution #paleontology #herpetology
August 28, 2025 at 1:00 PM
HYPE.
It's so great to finally see this paper come out!
It's so great to finally see this paper come out!
First time in my time here that I've been happy with both my senators from Idaho. Glad this is facing bipartisan opposition.
June 21, 2025 at 1:17 AM
First time in my time here that I've been happy with both my senators from Idaho. Glad this is facing bipartisan opposition.
Reposted by Gary McGaughey
Welcome the new (or at least newly described) Jurassic ichthyosaur 𝘍𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘪 from British Columbia. Featured in a new paper by Massare & colleagues. www.sci.news/paleontology... #FossilFriday #Ichthyosaur
Full paper: www.researchgate.net/publication/...
Full paper: www.researchgate.net/publication/...
June 20, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Welcome the new (or at least newly described) Jurassic ichthyosaur 𝘍𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘪 from British Columbia. Featured in a new paper by Massare & colleagues. www.sci.news/paleontology... #FossilFriday #Ichthyosaur
Full paper: www.researchgate.net/publication/...
Full paper: www.researchgate.net/publication/...
I saw a Phidippus johnsoni today in the field and my first reaction was "Oh look! A velvet ant!" So I guess the mimicry works on me.
May 27, 2025 at 5:01 AM
I saw a Phidippus johnsoni today in the field and my first reaction was "Oh look! A velvet ant!" So I guess the mimicry works on me.